"The obligation to publish the result of the index on the company website carries a significant risk for companies that would register a poor score." On the other hand, the risk of a financial penalty is taken very seriously. "John Holcroft / Ikon Images / Photononstop

The new system for measuring and controlling the pay gaps between men and women in companies, introduced by the law of 5 September 2018 for the freedom to choose one's professional future, was presented on November 22 by the Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud. Within five years, companies will have to measure and correct themselves according to five criteria: the pay gap (base, variable and bonus), the distribution of individual increases, the distribution of promotions, increases on the performance of maternity leave and the number of women in the highest salaries. Their wage equality index will have to be published every year.

The decree on the calculation methods for each criterion has yet to come. Questioned by The world on the implementation of this equal pay index, Denis Lesigne, Deloitte's director of human capital, believes that it can arouse real awareness.

Are companies well prepared?

Denis Lesigne – Companies still do not know exactly how to calculate the pay equity index since the decree was not published. They have not yet prepared. However, for the most important thing, they have an information system and resources that will allow them to meet deadlines.

Only companies with more than 1,000 employees will have to publish the payroll index at 1st March 2019. For those with 250 to 1,000 employees, the publication deadline for the first year has been postponed to 1st September 2019. As for companies with 50 to 250 employees, the publication obligation will come into forcest March 2020. By this date, payroll systems will probably be updated to incorporate the calculation of this index.

Which criterion can represent the greatest difficulty?

Of the five indicators that make up the index, the indicator of the number of women in the top ten earnings is probably a challenge for many companies. However, this indicator weighs only 10% of the final score.

The promotion indicator will also be a complex indicator. Because promotion is qualified as a conventional coefficient change, depending on the branch, it can be a rare phenomenon in a career. From that moment on, comparing the percentage of promoted women and men could leave some surprise.